I never knew that the Apollo 11 landing coincided with Sir Edmund's birthday. What wonderful serendipity. I do remember going outside to look up at the moon that night (full, in a cloudless sky) and thinking "Wow! There are people up there!" That's my definition of sensawunda. I suspect that the first succesful climbing of Everest had the same effect on my parents' generation. The first shuttle-landing ("It's _glided_ all the way from the edge of the atmosphere!!" the commentator said - was it Raymond Baxter? If not, it should have been.) was another moment that was almost as special.
Hillary and Tenzing, of course, climbed Everest without any of the technology that we take for granted as regards clothing, supplies, or GPS navigation, which is why their achievement will always be so magnificent.
There's an sf story - Asimov? Niven? Oh, my poor memory! - about a terrible, harsh journey to the surface of a planet; eventually, by the end of the story, tourists go down there via a lift. I always think of that whenever I hear that someone else has 'conquered' Everest.
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Pioneers 4 Eva!
Date: 2007-07-20 10:46 pm (UTC)Hillary and Tenzing, of course, climbed Everest without any of the technology that we take for granted as regards clothing, supplies, or GPS navigation, which is why their achievement will always be so magnificent.
There's an sf story - Asimov? Niven? Oh, my poor memory! - about a terrible, harsh journey to the surface of a planet; eventually, by the end of the story, tourists go down there via a lift. I always think of that whenever I hear that someone else has 'conquered' Everest.